Sony is estimated that Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” managed $124,848 from just 5 theaters on its first day of release. That’s a staggering number that amounted to a $24,967 per-theater-average for the day, a record for a mid-week limited release (topping “Cape Fear,” “American Beauty,” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” among others).

The overall record for both opening day and opening weekend per-theater-average was broken just a few months ago by Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” which averaged a stunning $48,425 on opening day from 5 theaters (roughly double what “Zero” made). But it didn’t open on a Wednesday. It will be interesting to see where the numbers for “Zero” go this weekend and how close it comes to the overall per-theater-average record (for a live action film) — $147,266 — that “The Master” set.

Check back with Indiewire through the holidays for updates on the specialty box office.

Zhao said with her Bass Reeves biopic, she’ll direct a more traditional cast like she did with her first-timers: “You can work with an actor in a certain way, you can create an environment like Terrence Malick has always done.”